California authorities have issued a subpoena to the Golden State Wind company over its agreement with the Trump administration to terminate a federal offshore wind lease, the newest flashpoint in a clash over energy policy in which developers have been paid to stop working on renewable projects in favor of conventional energy investments such as oil.
“The Trump administration is recklessly spending billions of taxpayer dollars on backroom deals that would turn back the clock on innovation,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild. “Californians deserve immediate answers about the nature of this payout. Taxpayer dollars should be used to build a sustainable energy future, not to pay to make projects disappear.”
The CEC’s action is aimed at the Golden State Wind project in the Morro Bay area off the Central California coast. The company agreed to end its lease after an April 27 announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The deal and a similar arrangement with Bluepoint Wind off New York are modeled after a previous agreement the administration struck with French supermajor oil company TotalEnergies, in which developers recover lease payments following the redirection of equivalent investments into oil, gas, infrastructure, or liquefied natural gas projects.
The projects’ owners have agreed to refuse any new U.S. offshore wind projects in the future while pursuing conventional energy contracts. Golden State Wind would have been eligible to recoup about $120 million after matching investments in Gulf Coast energy assets. Bluepoint Wind would see a much larger $765 million reimbursement.
Interior officials have said the cancellations are beneficial for taxpayers and energy dependability. Projects tendered under the previous administration were deemed too costly and reliant on subsidies, they argue, and the change in direction is in support of “affordable, reliable, secure energy infrastructure.”
The moves come as the administration has aggressively championed fossil fuels while stopping or challenging offshore wind projects citing national security, as well as economic and environmental concerns in some cases.
California has sought aggressive renewable goals. The state’s subpoena is requesting facts on the deal’s consequences for local energy planning, jobs, and commitments for offshore wind supply chains, as well as workforce training.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), have separately begun a probe into the earlier TotalEnergies deals, looking for oversight and potential conflicts of interest.
“Making a secretive, taxpayer-funded deal and trying to shield it from any legislative oversight does not generate confidence that this deal benefits the American people,” they wrote in a letter to the company’s CEO on April 29. “Therefore, [Democrats on the Natural Resources and Judiciary committees] have opened a formal investigation into you and your company.”
The Trump administration’s agreements to end the leases are part of a policy to support affordable and reliable energy by bolstering investments into domestic fossil fuel and infrastructure projects, saving taxpayers from subsidizing offshore wind developments to promote energy security.
